SHOOTOUT by Dr. Shah, Clearview Church, Henderson, NC

Introduction:  If you’ve seen the movie Tombstone, Doc Holiday provoked Johny Ringo to a shootout. Those who have seen the movie, know the famous line – “I’m your huckleberry.” I’m not sure if all that was historical, but it did make for a hit movie, and it helps set up our message this morning. As we were praying about what to preach on, it was clear that we needed to stick with our series on the book of Judges, especially the message this morning on Samson. We are about to meet a character who was known for provoking the enemy to a confrontation, again and again. In fact, God was the one who was leading him to provoke. This is a much-needed message for where we are in our culture today when Christians and churches have become callous, complacent, and cowardly instead of confrontational. By the way, Jesus was confrontational. We are to live peacefully in this world and yet start a revolution for the world coming.

Judges 14 (Pew Bible page numbers 393)  1 Now Samson went down to Timnah, and saw a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines. 2 So he went up and told his father and mother, saying, “I have seen a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines; now therefore, get her for me as a wife.” 3 Then his father and mother said to him, “Is there no woman among the daughters of your brethren, or among all my people, that you must go and get a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?” And Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, for she pleases me well.” 4 But his father and mother did not know that it was of the LORD—that He was seeking an occasion to move against the Philistines. For at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.

Context: Samson is often looked upon as a mindless brute, someone like a Hercules of the Greeks or an Enkidu of the Babylonians. In our times, many see him as an Israelite Tarzan. There are several reasons why this is a horrible misunderstanding and a misjudgment of this judge of Israel:

1. Samson is mentioned in the book of Hebrews’ hall of faith. He is mentioned along with Gideon, Barak, David, Samuel, and the prophets as “having obtained a good testimony through faith” (Hebrews 11:39b).

2. Samson is described in Judges as being moved mightily by the Holy Spirit. Although, other judges like Othniel, Gideon, and Jephthah are also mentioned as being moved by the Holy Spirit, Samson is mentioned 4 times. That should cause us to wonder if he’s really as mindless and bad as we’ve made him out to be. Someone might say, “just because Samson had the Holy Spirit does not mean that he was perfect, kind of like David.” True, several times Scriptures call David out for his sins, for e.g. with Bathsheba – “…But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD” (2 Samuel 11:27). Nowhere does the Scripture ever say that Samson was wrong for anything that he did.

3. Samson is a type of Christ. He stands in line with Moses before him and David after him in doing things in a certain pattern that find their fulfillment in Christ. Just like Moses, Samson came to free a people who were not very interested in being freed. Just like Moses, Samson also brought water out of the rock. Judges 15       18 “Then he became very thirsty (having killed a 1000 Philistines with just a jawbone of a donkey would do that); so he cried out to the LORD and said, ‘You have given this great deliverance by the hand of Your servant; and now shall I die of thirst and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?’ 19 So God split the hollow place that is in Lehi, and water came out, and he drank; and his spirit returned, and he revived.” In a sense, Samson was the New Moses for the people of God. 

Also, just like David, Samson also began his ministry with killing a lion. David did this at the start of his life when he was watching his father’s sheep and a lion (also a bear) took a lamb, and he recounts in 1 Samuel 17:35 “I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it.” So also, Samson kills a lion at the start of his minstry, as we will see in the message today. Just like David, Samson also had his new wife taken away from him on his wedding night, as we will see in this message. Just like David, Samson was also a poet. By the way, this was a time period when the heroes of the world were not only great fighters, but they were also poets, song writers, and musicians. Think for a moment about some of the characters from Homer’s Iliad (Paris, Achilles) who were poets (parable writers) and fighters.

Ultimately, all these types found their fulfillment in Christ. This means that we must reevaluate what we have thought of Samson. We must apply the 2 filters of Christ and the Christian life to this story. When we do that, what first appeared embarrassing becomes enlightening, what first appeared cringing becomes comforting, and what first appeared primitive becomes pertinent for our daily lives.

With this in mind, this let’s return to the account about Samson in Judges 14. Samson sees a Philistine girl and tells his parents to “get her for me as a wife.” People often read this passage and immediately call Samson a troubled youth or a lust driven young man who had no regard for God’s standard for his people. Is that really true? For starters, do you really think that if Samson was driven just by lust that he would have gone home to his parents and asked them to arrange a marriage for him? If he was a strong young man, he could have just found a way to abduct her and do whatever he wanted with her, but he doesn’t. He wants his parents’ blessing on the marriage.

As expected, his parents ask him why is he turning to the Philistine? – “Isn’t there some young lady among our own people you could marry?” His response is “Get her for me, for she pleases me well.” Don’t think of it only as a lustful statement. A better of translation of Samson’s reply in Judges 14:3 is “Get her for me, for she is (yashrah = from Yashar meaning “righteous” or “upright”) in my eyes.” That’s how the word is used in the Bible. What he is saying here is that there is no young lady he knows among his own people who is walking in the faith. This is very true. By the time of Samson, all the tribes of Israel had completely lost their faith. In fact, his own tribe of Dan probably had already migrated north and away from the section of the land that was allocated to them by God. That’s why, unlike Ehud from the tribe of Benjamin, Deborah from the tribe of Ephraim, Barak from the tribe of Naphtali, Gideon from the tribe of Manasseh, and on and on, Samson doesn’t have any from his tribe of Dan behind him. Later on, the Danites even tried to have a false altar there. I’ve been there.

I think that Samson went to Timnah (west of Jerusalem, towards the coast), as led by the Spirit of God, and there he met a Philistine woman who had faith in the living true God, kind of like Rahab of Jericho. But, someone might say, “didn’t God forbid his people to marry ‘the Hittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites’ (Deuteronomy 7:1-4 and Judges 3:5-6)?” True, but the Philistines were not on the list. They were not part of the statement – “the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete” for 400 years (Genesis 15:16). Yes, they were a pagan people, but they were not on the list of the prohibited nations. Yes, if a Goliath blasphemed God, he was killed at the hand of God’s anointed, but don’t forget that David went over to the Philistine side when he was fleeing from Saul. In fact, the men of Gath were loyal to David when he was fleeing from his own son Absalom (2 Samuel 15).

Back to Samson and his marriage – Judges 14:7 “Then he went down and talked with the woman; and she was upright in Samson’s eyes.” Now, there is an actual meeting, and once again, the word yashrah = righteous and upright is used. Someone might say – “Didn’t she betray him?” Before we answer that, this is a great reminder of how Samson was a type of Christ because Christ was also betrayed by his disciples. Of course, we know of Judas, but don’t forget Peter also denied him 3 times. So also, we betray him all the time. Jesus has also picked us, his bride, who does not deserve his love. 2 Timothy 2:13 says, “If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.” Later, in Judges 15, Samson returns for his wife, and her father had already given her to someone else. He tries to offer Samson his wife’s youngest sister, but he turns down that offer. Instead, he goes out and executes wrath against the Philistine farms. The Philistines burn his wife and her father, and Samson attacked them “hip and thigh with a great slaughter” (Judges 15:8). Ultimately, Samson knew that his wife did love him. She betrayed him, because they threatened her and her family with fire. So also, Jesus understands when we, his bride, also fail him. He is still faithful to us.

Application: Are you faithful to Christ? Do you know that he is faithful to you even when you are faithless?

Let’s return to the account: As he was making the trip down to Timnah to meet his future wife, a young lion came against him, and he killed it with his bare hands. This was not some random act. Lion represented the Philistine god, Resheph and even Dagon. Several lion-headed artifacts (cups) have been found in the region where the Philistines lived. By defeating the lion, he was demonstrating the break of the Philistine lion over the land of Israel. So also, Jesus has broken the hold of Satan who “walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). In Judges 14      8 “After some time, when he returned to get her, he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion….” Some people have argued that Samson broke his Nazarite vow when he touched a dead animal (Numbers 6:6-8). That’s not true. A Nazarite was not allowed to touch a dead person, nothing about a dead animal. Whatever you killed was clean to you, but then it depended for what purpose you used the animal. Some were clean to eat and some not. Judges 14      8 “…And behold, a swarm of bees and honey were in the carcass of the lion. 9 He took some of it in his hands and went along, eating….” By finding honey in the carcass, he was demonstrating that once again the land would be the “land flowing with milk and honey” (Exodus 3:17). God was not only going to help his people defeat the enemy, but he will also sustain them. Again, we find the type of Christ here – Isaiah 7       14 “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. 15 Curds and honey He shall eat, that He may know to refuse the evil and choose the good.” Does eating curd and honey help you refuse evil and choose good? Psalm 19       9 “…The judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. 10 More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.” Psalm 119:103“How sweet are Your words to my taste, Sweeter than honey to my mouth!”

Back to the account – Judges 14:9 “…When he came to his father and mother, he gave some to them, and they also ate. But he did not tell them that he had taken the honey out of the carcass of the lion.” What is all this business of not telling his parents? It’s because they were not ready to understand his greater purpose. Earlier Judges 14:4 says, “But his father and mother did not know that it was of the LORD—that He was seeking an occasion to move against the Philistines…” They were people of God, but they had lost their sense of discernment regarding the things of God. This is where the church is today. When I preach that the life of the unborn matters or same-sex sins of any kind are an abomination to the Lord, not everyone in the church is getting it. We have to do as Samson did, stand for what’s right, and in time, others may follow.

Now we come to final portion of the message – the wedding feast. So also, Jesus’s first miracle! Judges 14        10 “…And Samson gave a feast there, for young men used to do so. 11 And it happened, when they saw him, that they brought thirty companions to be with him.” Why did they bring the 30 companions? To get him drunk and figure out what this Israelite with long hair and weird ways is doing in Philistine territory marrying one of their girls! They want to apply the old truth serum. First of all, drinking was also against the Nazirite vow (Numbers 6:1-3), but this does not mean that Samson broke his vow. He was trained well by his parents. Second, Samson posed a riddle to them. By the way, this is also a type of Christ who often spoke in parables. Matthew 13       10 And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” 11 He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 13 Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.” Here’s Samson’s riddle – Judges 14         12 Then Samson said to them, “Let me pose a riddle to you. If you can correctly solve and explain it to me within the seven days of the feast, then I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothing. 13But if you cannot explain it to me, then you shall give me thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothing.” And they said to him, “Pose your riddle, that we may hear it.” 14 So he said to them: “Out of the eater came something to eat, And out of the strong came something sweet.” Now for three days they could not explain the riddle. Actually, the translation is “Out of the eater came something to eat, and out of the strong comes something strong tasting.” This is referring to vomit! The words for vomit, lion, and honey are the same – “ar.”

Finally, they get the right answer by threatening his wife. Judges 14:18 So the men of the city said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down: “What is sweeter than honey?And what is stronger than a lion?” By the way, what should have been the answer at a wedding – Love. This was their way of saying that his wife really didn’t love him. His response – Judges 14:18 And he said to them: “If you had not plowed with my heifer, You would not have solved my riddle!” This was not a derogatory remark but a loving name for his wife. You raped her to get the answer. 

Invitation: Do we truly understand what God is doing in our world, especially in America? Are you saved?

1 Corinthians 2:14 “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

Samson is also a type of Christ, but it is about a side of Christ that we often overlook to our own loss. I believe that where we are in the world today, especially in America, this is the side of Christ that we need to retrieve and reclaim, who confronts and transforms the world.